In Ash's mind, the absurdity of the beastfolk couldn't be described with just the word "extremely" bizarre. To him, they had basically reached... yes, the same level as the first man he met.
'So this is what people mean when they say growing up is the process of losing your illusions. It's always cruel... But isn't this a little too cruel?', With a long sigh, he shook his head and prepared to leave this heartbreaking place.
Just then, Ghislaine's hesitant voice came from behind him.
"W-Wait... could you wait a moment?"
"What?", Ash stopped and looked back at her in confusion.
"Please... could you give me... something to eat..."
"No, wait. Isn't that enough for you already?", Ash glanced at the pile on the ground before shouting with a face full of disbelief, "I've lived this long, and this is the first time anyone's made such an outrageous request."
"Is it that outrageous?", Ghislaine didn't quite understand what he meant and instinctively asked, "Maybe you just haven't experienced enough?"
Ash didn't get angry. Instead, he nodded repeatedly in agreement.
"You're right! I've realized I really haven't experienced enough. Only now do I understand this world is far bigger than I imagined... But normal people should never run into something like this!"
"Isn't it pretty normal? If you've been an adventurer long enough, there are times when people share things and help each other?", Ghislaine tried to explain, genuinely unable to understand why he resisted the request so strongly.
"How are we supposed to share that? I don't want any! And what, are you asking me to produce it on the spot?"
"On the spot? Produce?"
Muttering to herself, Ghislaine couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Giving up on thinking, something she had never been good at anyway, she placed a hand on her chest, bowed deeply, and pleaded with all her might, "Please! I'll do anything!"
"Begging won't help! I'm not doing anything!"
Normally, if a mature beastgirl said something like that, maybe he'd be tempted.
But the circumstances were far too strange, and what she had just done... he simply couldn't appreciate it.
Afraid she might touch him, Ash rejected her without a second thought.
As a Sword King, being refused so completely over a little food left Ghislaine unable to keep a straight face.
But the other man was obviously far stronger than she was, so she could only lower her head in frustration.
Seeing this, Ash couldn't help muttering again, his voice full of disgust and confusion.
"So you're just going to keep eating it? Seriously... why do beastfolk like that stuff..."
"Hm?", Ghislaine heard him and blankly pointed at the thing on the ground, "That's... my..."
"I know it's yours, and I absolutely won't fight you for it, so don't worry," Ash hurriedly waved both hands in disgust and subconsciously took several more steps back, as though afraid of being associated with it in any way.
Even someone as slow as Ghislaine finally realized Ash had some very strange misunderstanding about her.
She quickly shook the filth off her hands and anxiously explained,
"N-No! It's not like that! I'm not eating it because I like it!"
"Really? Then... is it a hobby?"
"Y-You..."
The suspicious look on his face made Ghislaine want to kill someone for the first time in her life.
She even suspected he was deliberately humiliating her.
After all... what normal person would think beastfolk liked eating that stuff?
It was only after seeing Ghislaine's strange expression and the barely restrained anger radiating from her that Ash finally realized... he might have misunderstood beastfolk just a little.
Carefully choosing his words, he cautiously probed for the truth.
After quite a bit of effort, he finally figured out what had happened.
It turned out she really hadn't eaten the monster dung because she liked it or was curious about its taste.
The reason was simply that Ghislaine was too stupid.
A few days earlier, she had lost her food while exploring a labyrinth and decided to turn back.
When she rationed her remaining provisions for the return trip, however, her arithmetic ability was practically nonexistent.
She completely messed up the calculations.
During the first few days she ate without any restraint.
As a result, she spent the next three days starving.
Driven to the brink with an empty stomach and wanting to stay alive, she had no choice but to pick up monster dung to fill her belly.
Ash simply couldn't understand how anyone could be that stupid.
She had managed to miscalculate how much she should eat each day.
And by that much?
It sounded even more unbelievable than genuinely liking to eat dung.
He couldn't help wondering whether she was hiding some racial trait and had simply come up with an excuse that didn't hold up under scrutiny.
After all...
Even if beastfolk could converse normally, surely they couldn't be this stupid?
Still, Ash was kindhearted by nature.
Despite all his doubts, he took out food and water and handed them to her.
After making Ghislaine wash her hands first, he watched her wolf down the food and roughly confirmed, she really did seem to prefer normal human food.
Unable to make sense of it, he quietly looked away toward the distant mountains and sighed.
"But my first impression was way too strong. I probably won't feel like petting beastgirls for the next ten years."
"What's wrong?", Hearing that, Ghislaine stopped eating, her tail swaying as she looked up at him in confusion.
Ash hurriedly waved both hands, "Nothing. Don't worry about it. Oh, and don't come any closer."
"By the way, judging by how you're dressed, you're a warrior, right?", Ghislaine asked while chewing her food, "But you can use magic too? And chantless magic at that? You even created water just now."
"I'm actually just a mage. All this is just for appearances," Ash tapped the hilt of the sword at his waist with a fingertip and spread his hands with a smile, "After all, nobody would suspect that someone carrying a sword is actually a physically weak mage, right?"
"A mage?"
"Ah, I mean, a magician," Rubbing his temples, he recalled how magic worked in this world.
Long ago, magic circles had apparently been the mainstream.
Now chanting was the norm.
After years of development, the simplest incantations had been shortened to around five seconds.
A very small number of people could even cast without chanting.
Even then, chantless casting still required some preparation time.
There was no way it could be as fast as Frieren's or Ubel's magic.
Furthermore, the power structure of this world was strangely disconnected.
The strongest people stood far above the world's average level.
Overall, mages were also weaker than warriors.
While Ash was thinking about this, Ghislaine, who had been chatting with him moments ago, suddenly covered both her mouth and stomach, jumped off the wagon, looked around, and hurried behind a nearby rock.
Curious, Ash instinctively glanced over.
After hearing some strange noises, he immediately understood what she was doing.
Pretending nothing had happened, he urged the horse onward, hoping to leave as quickly as possible.